Volume 1 Wuchang Vortex Chapter 48: The Day of Rise (Part 3)
In the Eighth Town Engineering Camp, the beds and floors in each room were piled with white towels for identification and other uprising items.
Xiong Bingkun looked at his pocket watch anxiously. According to the plan, they were originally going to launch the uprising during the evening exercises, because all the soldiers would be exercising at that time and it would be easy to agitate them. However, he did not expect that old dog Zhang Biao suddenly ordered the cancellation of all the troops' evening exercises, causing the plan to be postponed again.
But what he is most anxious about is not this, but the bullets!
As an old member of the literature club, he was not as impetuous as those outsiders like Sun Wu. They had been working hard and conscientiously to develop the grassroots in secret over the years. Even though many people left due to the previous rotation, there were still many comrades in Wuchang City, and it was not a problem to gather two or three thousand people outside. Especially the engineering battalion in front of him, nearly half of the soldiers were comrades thanks to his efforts, so he was not short of people now, but only bullets!
Wuchang City was an important military town, unlike the 42nd Regiment in Hanyang and Hankou, which were already considered super big tigers and were on duty and could only keep three bullets. Their bullets had been taken away. Fortunately, Yang Hongsheng said he had some at home, but they had not been taken out until now, which made him a little anxious.
The news that Xiaochao Street was destroyed during the day and Liu Fuqi and other heroes died heroically had made everyone's eyes red with anger. Even the soldiers who had not joined the party felt sympathy. Now was the best opportunity to take action, but... bullets!
Without bullets, nothing matters. Although Chu Wangtai has brothers as internal support, the remaining bannermen and soldiers are not vegetarians. What should we do? Seeing that everyone's faces are becoming more and more solemn, Xiong Bingkun knows that he can't wait any longer, so he gritted his teeth and said, "Get ready."
Hearing this, the soldiers who had been waiting for orders all jumped up like hounds. White towels were quickly tied around their arms, and the eighteen-star flag that had been pieced together with great difficulty was also opened. Due to the lack of bullets, many people simply pulled out their bayonets.
Just at this moment, Yang Hongsheng finally came. Not only did he come, but a soldier who volunteered to steal the officer's bullets also came back. A full 150 bullets finally made Xiong Bingkun breathe a sigh of relief.
The click-click of bullets being loaded caused quite a stir. An officer passing by the door heard it and immediately walked in. As soon as he entered the door, he saw Xiong Bingkun and the soldiers cleaning their guns and drawing their swords. He also saw that they all had white towels tied around their arms. He immediately understood what was going on and said in a panic, "Brother, I know you are going to do something big tonight. I will never stop you or complain. I just ask you not to attack me. Please forgive me for any mistakes I have made to you in the past."
Xiong Bingkun recognized this officer, his name was Fang Dingguo, and he was not a bad person, so he said directly: "We are all Han people, and we will never kill each other."
Fang Dingguo finally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw this. After thinking about it, he pulled out his pistol, took out the bullets and handed them to Xiong Bingkun. Then he went out without saying a word. As soon as he walked downstairs, he saw Luo Ziqing.
Luo Ziqing was a first-class lieutenant in the engineering battalion. He was 27 years old, the golden age for a soldier, and he was the only officer in the new army who had studied in Germany with Yue Peng. In fact, he had known that something was going to happen tonight, so when he saw his expression, he immediately winked upstairs. Fang Dingguo didn't dare to speak, but just nodded.
Luo Ziqing patted his shoulder to comfort him and then left the building. When he saw Xiong Bingkun and the others, he immediately turned serious and asked, "Are we going to start the uprising tonight and kill all the officials?"
"We will definitely expel the Manchus. We kill officials in order to seize power. We won't kill indiscriminately unless they resist!" Xiong Bingkun saw that Luo Ziqing did not dare to act presumptuously. He knew that this man was a capable person. He never insulted the soldiers, and defended them in public many times. He also had a high prestige among the younger generation of the Eight Regiments and even the entire New Army. If he wanted to stop him, he believed that the remaining half of the soldiers would never participate.
Seeing Luo Ziqing staring at him without saying anything, Xiong Bingkun simply gritted his teeth and said, "Brother Jiwu (Luo Ziqing's pen name), you have studied abroad, and you are a graduate of a German military academy. With your ability, you should have been a standard commander or assistant commander long ago. But the Manchus are blind and only know how to make money and harm people, and they even put Yang Qiu, the groom, on the stage! Now that the Manchus are doomed, it is time to restore our Han Dynasty. In my opinion, you might as well join us in the rebellion! As long as you say a word, we will listen to you, and from now on, you will be beaten and killed without fighting back!"
"I have to go out tonight. Please bear with me." Luo Ziqing was silent for a moment, walked to the bedside and looked at the rough 18-star flag. He frowned, but suddenly stopped at the door: "We are all comrades... If you can... don't hurt anyone's life."
Luo Ziqing did not agree to be the commander, which made Xiong Bingkun feel it was a pity. You know, those who were preparing for the rebellion were all soldiers, and there were no officers at all. Everyone relied on their passion and heroism, but there was not a single good fighter who really knew how to fight, so he was secretly anxious.
But time waits for no one, the roster has fallen into Ruicheng's hands, and the patrol battalion and military police may rush in at the next moment, so he simply forgets about this matter for the time being and leads everyone to continue preparing.
Luo Ziqing walked out of the dormitory and saw Fang Dingguo still standing there in a daze. He knew that he was really scared. There were no bullets in his gun, so he unloaded three rounds from his pistol and handed them to him: "Go home and have a good sleep. Even if the sky falls, it won't hinder us."
Fang Dingguo was still in the mood to sleep. Seeing that he was about to leave, he quickly stopped him and asked, "Ziqing, where are you going?"
In fact, Luo Ziqing had long ago lost his mind about what to do. He had been studying abroad in Germany for the purpose of defending his country. Now his country was no longer a country, and his family was in danger, so he did not know how to answer. He just felt uncomfortable when he thought of the flag with only eighteen stars. He laughed bitterly in his heart: "Lieutenant Commander Yue Peng of the 42nd Battalion is my good friend. I heard that he is now serving as a deputy captain in Hankou, which is far away from Wuchang. I will go there first to check the situation."
Fang Dingguo had originally wanted to seek refuge in Hankou, but his family was in Wuchang, so they had to go their separate ways. Luo Ziqing glanced behind him again, and suddenly felt a fatigue and heartbreak he had never felt before. He took a deep breath and disappeared into the darkness.
Fang Dingguo and Luo Ziqing were both gone, which made Xiong Bingkun feel both sorry and relieved. He quickly found his sworn brother Tao Qiyuan in the army. Because Tao Qiyuan's brother was Zhengmu, he was usually rigid and had offended many people. Xiong Bingkun was afraid that something might go wrong, so he kindly reminded him not to get involved when the uprising started.
Tao Qiyuan was deeply moved and was about to go find his brother to persuade him not to get involved. Unexpectedly, as soon as he came downstairs, he saw his brother Tao Qisheng and two guards about to go upstairs. They quickly stopped him and said, "Brother, don't go up. If you really can't, go back and rest."
Although Tao Qisheng also disliked the Manchus, he always felt that a soldier should behave like a soldier and should not interfere in political affairs, so he pushed his brother away and rushed upstairs.
But he went to the wrong door. Instead of Xiong Bingkun's dormitory, he rushed to Jin Zhaolong's side. When he entered the door, he saw Jin Zhaolong cleaning his gun. There were also several soldiers with white towels tied on their arms loading bullets into their guns. His face suddenly became serious and he asked, "You are not on duty tonight, why are you carrying weapons?"
"I don't mean anything else. I just want to be prepared for the worst." Jin Zhaolong knew that Tao Qisheng was Tao Qiyuan's brother, and he also knew that Tao Qiyuan was Xiong Bingkun's sworn brother, so he didn't want to kill him and just responded.
"What the hell are you talking about!" Tao Qisheng jumped up excitedly. "I've said that as a soldier you shouldn't interfere in government affairs. Just be a good soldier for us. How are you different from those bandits and rebels?!"
Jin Zhaolong got mad after being yelled at like that. He also jumped up and shouted angrily, "Tao Qisheng, I'm giving you a way out for your brother's sake. Don't be so shameless. I want to rebel. What do you want?"
Tao Qisheng didn't bother to talk to him and said to the guard behind him: "Unload his gun." Upon hearing this, all the soldiers nearby stood up and pointed their guns at each other, scaring the guards so much that they didn't even dare to move. The dormitory suddenly became silent and tense to the extreme.
Seeing that the guards did not move and the soldiers dared to point their guns at him, Tao Qisheng became angry and stepped forward to grab Jin Zhaolong's gun. Fearing that a hasty shooting would cause trouble, the two men immediately started to fight.
Tao Qisheng was tall and strong, and after years of hard training, he was much tougher than lazy guys like Jin Zhaolong. In a few moves, he shook off the soldier and grabbed the gun. Seeing that the gun was about to be taken away, Jin Zhaolong shouted anxiously: "Shoot! What are you still standing there for!"
This loud shout immediately woke everyone up from their confusion. Soldier Lu Zhengying raised his gun and shot Tao Qisheng in the head.
Snapped!
No one would have thought that at 7 o'clock in the evening on October 10 of the Xinhai Revolution, the first shot in Wuchang would be fired at a fellow party member and brother.
The sudden sound of gunfire in the dark night was like a charge, and the soldiers who were preparing all rushed out of the barracks. Tao Qizhen shuddered when he heard the gunfire downstairs. When he ran upstairs, he found that his brother had fallen in the middle of the aisle with his head covered. Blood kept flowing from his body, dyeing the entire aisle red.
Looking at his brother, Tao Qisheng, who was not yet dead, stretched out his bloody hand, and grasped his hand with unknown strength. However, as his throat was full of blood, he could not make a sound for a while and could only sob.
Tao Qi was pulling his brother hard and calling for the medical soldiers desperately, but no one had time to pay attention to him at this time. Teams of rebel soldiers ran past him, and no one even paid him any attention. This result made him feel like a wooden man, with a blank mind.
Before the revolution even began, his brother fell in a pool of blood. This was a result he had never dreamed of, and the people who killed him were the people he always called brothers.
Seeing his brother's face beginning to turn black, Tao Qizhen knew that his brother would not survive. He glanced at Jin Zhaolong and Lu Zhengying who were outside inciting the soldiers to shoot into the air, grabbed the gun and was ready to go for revenge, but when he moved he realized that his brother was still holding his hand, his nails almost digging into his flesh, and he would not let go no matter how he shook it off.
"Go...home, don't be a soldier...anymore." As Tao Qisheng's fingers gradually loosened, there was already a burst of gunfire outside!
